Battle management has shifted from future capability to operational requirement across Army formations, from homeland defense to maneuver, fires, and forward operations. Meeting this demand means fielding interoperable systems now, not pilots and prototypes, powered by open architectures, AI-enabled decision support, autonomy, and edge computing. This Defense News panel explores how Army and industry leaders are turning battle management from concept into scalable capability soldiers can use today.

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The Pentagon’s readiness problem now has a price tag: a $285 billion maintenance backlog, more than double what it was a few years ago, plus nearly 200 open GAO recommendations across the air, sea, ground, and space domains. With a fifth of the defense budget tied to readiness, legacy tools can’t keep pace. This Defense News panel examines why the gap keeps widening and how AI-driven data analysis is starting to close it.

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Drone swarms have already reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine, and senior leaders warn U.S. homeland defenses still lack the sensors and interceptors to stop a coordinated attack. Cheap, autonomous drones can overwhelm one-at-a-time defenses, making layered detection, AI-enabled decision-making, and scalable effectors the new price of entry. This Defense News panel examines what the Army has learned about countering swarms, and how those lessons are shaping homeland protection.

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